Welcome to the2006 State of the Sanctuaries Report Web site. The National Marine Sanctuary Program is making major strides in developing results-oriented resource protection, science, management and educational programs. This Web site highlights the program’s key 2006 accomplishments and our progress toward delivering results in marine conservation.

Another significant accomplishment was sanctuary staff's research into reducing threats to endangered whales and the International Maritime Organization's subsequent approval for shifting shipping lanes in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Other highlights include discovering new areas of deep-water corals; documenting increases of marine life five years after establishing the Florida Keys Tortugas ecological reserve; initiating a California public ocean awareness campaign; designating two wrecks as national historic places; and launching a new marine education Web portal.

A major reason for our accomplishments is the continued involvement and dedication of numerous partners such as aquaria, universities, government agencies, non-profit organizations and countless volunteers who dedicate thousands of hours to ensure continued protection of our fragile ocean ecosystems and maritime heritage.

Please use the report outline to your left as a guide to learning about a sanctuary (e.g. Channel Islands) or topic area (e.g. Resource Protection) that interests you.

Download the entire report here. (pdf, 8.4MB)Download Recommendations: Because of occasional download conflicts with web browsers, we recommend that you download these pdf files to your desktop by right-clicking on the link for PC users and click and hold for Macintosh users. Then open them using Acrobat.